23 January
Sussex MPs discuss STPs (local)
Bexhill-on-sea Observer
http://www.bexhillobserver.net/news/health/mps-discuss-nhs-plan-with-leaders-1-7783756
Defend NHS march brings Brighton to standstill (local)
Midhurst and Petworth Observer. Sussex Defend the NHS widely quoted.
[17 more stories]
24 January
NHS Pathology labs ripe for privatisation and cuts
The consequences to quality of diagnosis, treatment and infection control are made plain. Guardian:
Landmark study exposes privatisation risks
Study on effects of outsourcing hospital cleaning. Open Democracy:
Oxfordshire protesters to take fight to Westminster (local)
Excellent pre-publicity from alliance of campaigners in Banbury area. Widely quoted.
Political choices underlyng US and UK healthcare
Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/24/nhs-us-healthcare-austerity-politics-obamacare
25 January
KONP Nottingham express fears over STP (local)
Nottingham Post. KONP Nottingham is subject of the story. Includes quotes. Well done Nottingham
27 January
Ambulance service getting worse
National Audit Office Report. Affecting other services, of course. Independent:
Is the health service really facing a humanitarian crisis?
Warning against exaggeration. Guardian:
Thousands to stage torchlit protest over cuts (local)
Manchester Evening News
Immigrant patient data to be handed to Home Office
Independent. Widely reported elsewhere since. Putting illegal immigration into the same ethical category as murder and other violent offences. So the ethical principles regarded as appropriate for healthcare and justifying this are…what, exactly? Independent
Guardian editorial: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/27/the-nhs-should-protect-patient-confidentiality
NHS on brink of collapse says Leeds councillor (local)
Yorkshire Evening Post. Just saying it the way it is!
Southend protests over A&E downgrade (local)
Alliance of campaign groups’ successful protest, including KONP. Well done KONP Southend.
Enquirer: http://www.theenquirer.co.uk/protests-in-southend-as-ae-downgrade-plan-given-clinical-backing/
May hints at NHS being part of US trade deal
Later retracted by Downing Street, and objected to by Jeremy Corbyn (the latter nowhere near as widely reported). Independent and elsewhere:
Surgeons furious over CCG plans to axe knee and hop operations
CCG Worcs announced this latest cuts to service and it has been widely condemned. The criterion was to be if patients could not sleep because of the pain.
Mirror and elsewhere: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/surgeons-furious-nhs-cost-cutting-9700068
Don’t let GPs charge for procedures no longer ‘allowed’ on the NHS
Caution against the slippery slope this would represent. Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/26/nhs-free-gp-doctor-surgery-treatment
28 January
Protesters stage mock ‘die in’ outside Manchester Royal Infirmary (local)
Good quotes and pics too. Salford Star:
http://www.salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=3680
NHS spending per person will be cut next year
Ministers have confirmed what has widely been suspected. Independent:
Record numbers of patients having operations cut
From the Mail, of all places! But no ‘Government ministers cause cancer’ headline, unfortunately…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4166552/Record-number-NHS-patients-operations-cancelled.html
29 January
Intensive care ‘at limit’ because of staff shortages
Observer:
Regular enquiries from journalists continue. Recent ones include the Morning Star and Channel 4 News. Alan Taman was the studio guest at a 2 hour programme on the NHS for Voice of Islam radio. The programme triggered a lot of interest on air and on social media.
Several branches are sending in press releases – thank you. We need more! Local successes are at least matching national ‘presence’, which is to be expected – but it helps to know of any successes, or even unsuccessful attempts. Please send to Alan Taman: [email protected]
This service is provided as a guide to the main stories, but you can get alerts sent about health stories yourself every day. This is done through Google news and Google alerts: free services anyone can set up. To find out how to do this, go to the Steering Group, News & Events section on the KONP website (https://keepournhspublic.com/support-konp/steering-group-page/news-events/ ) and look for the “starter set of instructions”.
Mobile devices also have free apps that provide news, which you can filter with varying degrees of control.
Leave a Reply